The festival, brainchild of local producers Neill Roy and Roberta Gallinari from Harlequin Productions, has already attracted some big names, with actor and comedian Johnny Vegas and local comedian and writer Mark Steel signing up as judges. They will be joined by local animation and special effects director Quentin Miles of Cinesite whose many credits include the new Clash of the Titans and the Harry Potter and James Bond series.
Neill Roy said that the idea for the festival was less a “lightbulb moment”, rather “a year or more fanning the original flame. I’ve lived here for seven years and loved it from the start. It is a hubub of all kinds of art from music to paint, sculpture and film/TV. There is already a music festival here and live music every week in lots of bars – it just seemed perfect to complete the cycle. Since my company, Harlequin Productions, is local and produce commercials, video and TV we are the logical organisers.”
Crystal Palace is no stranger to moving images. Nearly a century ago Motograf films were based in the area, making such early features as “The Cup Final Mystery”, “The Last Days of Pompeii” and, still topical given recent weather, “Big Game Hunting in the North Pole Icefields”. In the 1930s a young film producer called J. Arthur Rank operated a studio near what is now Jasper Road, while TV pioneer John Logie Baird sent the first colour TV signals from the original Crystal Palace building. Larger than life director and former Big Brother house resident Ken Russell lived on Church Road, and is said to have shot one of his earliest films at Crystal Palace train station. One of British cinema’s most often quoted scenes - in “The Italian Job” where Michael Caine utters the words: “You were only meant to blow the bloody doors off!” – was shot in the park, within sight of the television transmitter.
Neill Roy hopes that the festival will capture the spirit of the area’s film history. “We’ve received films from all over the UK and the world, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Canada, USA, Sweden, Italy… the list goes on and the quality has been outstanding from both shoe string budgets to Hollywood mega bucks.” The films selected as finalists will be screened in local bars and other venues. “Transmitter” awards will be given for best feature, short film, comedy, short comedy, horror/sci-fi, foreign-language, animation and music video, with one finalist being chosen as the ‘Best in Festival’. For film-makers, the final date for submissions is before June 19th, however the modest submission fees are further reduced for entries before April 19th, and May 19th. The festival may also boost the long-running campaign to re-establish a working cinema in the Crystal Palace triangle, at the site of the former Rialto/Granada cinema, later a bingo hall, and now lying empty after the rejection of a planning application to turn it into a church.
So will Crystal Palace take on something of the atmosphere of Canne’s famous Croisette this summer? Neill Roy thinks it might: “The triangle of bars and restaurants is ideal to enhance the festival vibe… we’ll be showing the finalists at many different bar venues with screens and we intend to have a voucher scheme for restaurants to offer film festival discounts. The intention is to build the festival up into a sponsored, prestigious event that brings attention and revenue to Crystal Palace and most of all is an enjoyable event to visit.” South of France be warned, South London will be snapping at your heels in 2010…
If you are interested in joining our mailing list, please submit your email below. 
